The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and specifically to electrical connectors having closely spaced contacts where interference from crosstalk in the connector is a concern.
Various electrical connectors are known for use in the telecommunications industry to transmit voice, data, and video signals. It is common for some electrical connectors to be configured to include a plug which is connectable to a jack mounted in the wall, or as part of a panel or other telecommunications equipment mounted to a rack or cabinet. The jack includes a housing which holds a plurality of closely spaced spring contacts in the appropriate position for contacting the contacts of a plug inserted into the jack. The spring contacts of the jack are often mounted to a printed circuit board, either vertically or horizontally. An RJ45 plug and jack connector system is one well known standard including closely spaced contacts.
Crosstalk between the contacts in telecommunications connectors is a concern due to the close spacing of the contacts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,399,107; 5,674,093; and 5,779,503 are examples of various connectors including jacks and plugs which attempt to address the problem of crosstalk. It is desired to improve performance of the electrical connectors, such as an RJ45 connector, where crosstalk problems increase as higher frequencies are transmitted through the connector.
One aspect of the present invention relates to an electrical connector for connecting to a plug having a plurality of electrical contacts, the connector including a plurality of first and second metallic spring contacts. Each of the first and second spring contacts includes: 1) a circuit board connection end for connecting to a circuit board; 2) a first longitudinally extending section; 3) a main bend section; and 4) a second longitudinally extending section engageable with a contact of the plug. The first longitudinally extending section, the main bend section, and the second longitudinally extending section define a general V-shape. The second longitudinally extending section of the first spring contacts have two linear portions joined at a bend portion. The second longitudinally extending section of the second spring contacts extends linearly. A dielectric contact housing holds the spring contacts, wherein the contact housing defines an x-axis, a y-axis and a z-axis. The contact housing is configured for receipt of the plug in a direction of the x-axis, wherein the first and second spring contacts are arranged such that: 1) the first and second spring contacts alternate along the z-axis; 2) the first longitudinally extending sections of the first spring contacts are in a plane displaced along the y-axis from a plane defined by the first longitudinally extending sections of the second spring contacts; and 3) the main bends of the first spring contacts are displaced along the x-axis from the main bends of the second spring contacts.
A printed circuit board is mounted to the first and second spring contacts at the circuit board connection ends. The printed circuit board may define either a plane parallel to the x and z-axes, or a plane parallel to the y and z axes.
In the case of a one preferred embodiment, the contact housing includes a base for receiving each of the first longitudinally extending sections of the first and second spring contacts, wherein the base defines at least one channel extending in the direction of the x-axis between the first longitudinally extending sections of the first spring contacts and the first longitudinally extending sections of the second spring contacts. In the case of another preferred embodiment, the contact housing includes a base having a divider extending from a top surface, with the divider defining a plurality of alternating first and second channels. Each of the first and second channels receives one of the first and second spring contacts. The first channels extend at an angle to the x and y-axes, and the second channels extend parallel to the x-axis.
Another aspect of the present invention relates to an electrical connector for connecting to a plug having a plurality of electrical contacts where the connector includes a plurality of first and second metallic spring contacts. Each of the first and second spring contacts includes: 1) a circuit board connection end for connecting to a circuit board; 2) a first longitudinally extending section; 3) a main bend section; and 4) a second longitudinally extending section. The first longitudinally extending section, the main bend section, and the second longitudinally extending section define a general V-shape. A dielectric contact housing holds the spring contacts, wherein the contact housing defines an x-axis, a y-axis and a z-axis. The contact housing is configured for receipt of the plug in a direction of the x-axis, wherein the first and second spring contacts are arranged such that: 1) the first and second spring contacts alternate along the z-axis; 2) the first longitudinally extending sections of the first spring contacts are in a plane displaced along the y-axis from a plane defined by the first longitudinally extending sections of the second spring contacts; and 3) the contact housing including a base for receiving each of the first longitudinally extending sections of the first and second spring contacts, wherein the base defines at least one channel extending in the direction of the x-axis between the first longitudinally extending sections of the first spring contacts and the first longitudinally extending sections of the second spring contacts.